


Before Beyond

by a_salty_alto



Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon)
Genre: Canonical percieved character death, Drabble, Epsiode Related, Not Really Character Death, Temporary Character Death, and I continue to suck at titles, because Steve thinks Tony's dead but he's actually fine, but Steve doesn't know that in this fic, if you think I should tag character death let me know, not sure how to tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2019-03-06 08:09:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13407054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_salty_alto/pseuds/a_salty_alto
Summary: Dr. Strange speaks to them with practiced care. Well, he used to be a medical doctor after all, he probably has experience telling someone the light of their life has just died. Steve sits there numb, barely understanding Strange’s explanation of his pocket dimension, how it was unstable and finally ripped itself to shreds. That it’s in pieces and that there was no sign that Tony had managed to escape.Tony was dead.





	Before Beyond

**Author's Note:**

> So, Tony and Steve’s reunion episode (4.17 "Beyond" if you haven't seen it) aired and it gave us one really important fact: Steve thought Tony was dead this whole time. So of course I had to write a drabble about sad Steve dealing with Tony’s "death"

Dr. Strange speaks to them with practiced care. Well, he used to be a medical doctor after all, he probably has experience telling someone the light of their life has just died. Steve sits there numb, barely understanding Strange’s explanation of his pocket dimension, how it was unstable and finally ripped itself to shreds. That it’s in pieces and that there was no sign that Tony had managed to escape.   
Tony was dead.  
Tony was dead.  
It feels almost impossible. Tony had survived so much, surgery in the desert, fights with gods and monsters, having his heart ripped from his chest, it was laughable that he’d just…. fade away like this. A star as bright as Tony Stark deserved to go out with a bang.   
~  
“You should get out. Get some fresh air.” Carol says. Steve gets it. He’s the team leader now. He can’t- he can’t just stay here, doing nothing. He’s barely spoken with anyone since they’d gotten the news. Steve knows Tony wouldn’t have wanted him to be like this. The world still needs protecting. It’s Steve’s job to do it.   
Steve takes his bike and rides into the city. He focuses on the surroundings, the crisp January air, and tries to pretend he doesn’t realize where he’s going until he finds himself squarely in front of what used to be Avengers Tower.  
Even though it’s been months since the Tower’s destruction, if Steve closes his eyes he can imagine it perfectly.  
He’s opening the front doors and riding the elevator up to Tony’s workshop. He’ll knock on the doors out of politeness and then enter his pass code. Tony’ll be there completely engrossed in his work. Steve will gently nudge him.  
“Tony, when did you last sleep?” It’s not really a question; they both know he’s on the end of a three-day work binge. Nonetheless,  Tony will try to wave him off and say he’s fine, but Steve will just put a hand on his shoulder and offer to take him to bed. Tony’ll make a token effort to complain before letting Steve pick him up and carry him up to their shared bedroom. They’ll take a shower together, then climb into bed. Tony will insist he’s not tired the whole time, but once they’re together under the covers, Tony will curl into him and pass out almost immediately. Steve will hold him and it’ll just be the two of them together.  
Steve opens his eyes again and stares at the empty space, adorned with flowers from people who wanted to honor Iron Man.  
~  
Another day, another fight. Aliens this time, and everything’s going well, and Steve’s focused on the battle. This is something he knows how to do. This is normal.  
He wishes Tony were here.   
That’s normal now, too.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has a [a tumblr post](https://a-salty-alto.tumblr.com/post/169832845350/beyond-fic-so-tony-and-steves-reunion-episode) that you can reblog! Thanks for reading!


End file.
